Knowledge of God is the most important thing of what I teach to my children.
This is learned through the Mass, Bible reading, literature about saints and religious thought, and every little bias (seeing through our Catholic lens!) we add to all we say and do.
It's the Catholic world view that I share in every single thing I do all day. (or don't share!)
It's making an extra serving for dinner and letting the children deliver it to the elderly woman next door.
It's the smile I give in the middle of the night to the call for a drink of water.
It's the atmosphere my husband and I have created in our home through visuals of our Catholic faith, readings we do, and the prayers we say.
It's the moments of the day in which we all stop and pray. Moments like when we see a police man or ambulance driving past with sirens on. We say a prayer for the person they will attend to as well as the community service worker and their safety.
It's the intentional moments for praying the Angelus at noon and family prayer in the evening.
Religion has two aspects, the attitude of the will towards God which we understand by Christianity, and that perception of God which comes from a gradual slow growing comprehension of the divine dealings with men. (Volume 6)
As with all of Charlotte Mason, we glimpse what the children know when we allow them to narrate after each reading. When we use good literature to share big ideas with them, they are able to develop a broad knowledge about God in which they are able to continually build onto. This begins the lifelong learning about God.
Specifically what we do at home:
This is learned through the Mass, Bible reading, literature about saints and religious thought, and every little bias (seeing through our Catholic lens!) we add to all we say and do.
It's the Catholic world view that I share in every single thing I do all day. (or don't share!)
It's making an extra serving for dinner and letting the children deliver it to the elderly woman next door.
It's the smile I give in the middle of the night to the call for a drink of water.
It's the atmosphere my husband and I have created in our home through visuals of our Catholic faith, readings we do, and the prayers we say.
It's the moments of the day in which we all stop and pray. Moments like when we see a police man or ambulance driving past with sirens on. We say a prayer for the person they will attend to as well as the community service worker and their safety.
It's the intentional moments for praying the Angelus at noon and family prayer in the evening.
Religion has two aspects, the attitude of the will towards God which we understand by Christianity, and that perception of God which comes from a gradual slow growing comprehension of the divine dealings with men. (Volume 6)
As with all of Charlotte Mason, we glimpse what the children know when we allow them to narrate after each reading. When we use good literature to share big ideas with them, they are able to develop a broad knowledge about God in which they are able to continually build onto. This begins the lifelong learning about God.
Specifically what we do at home:
Form IB: Mass on Sundays, Wednesdays and feast days; daily readings of the Office read to them, and picture Bible stories read to them.
Form IA: all the above plus books they read to themselves--this has typically been the time my children ask for first communion. We use lots of picture books about the saints and heroic lives.
Form II: Inos Biffi books, Paulist press biography books about saints, reading the Gospels themselves
Form III: YOUCAT, Reading the Pauline Epistles
Form IV: Didache, Vatican II Documents, Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, Writings of the Early Church Fathers
Form V: New and Old Testament readings with Biblical Commentary
Form IV: Letting the teen choose! Some modern books teaching about the faith.
We have also been part of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in our area since our oldest child was 3. You can read more about the international movement of the Atrium here. When our children have reached age 12 we have allowed them to volunteer in the Atrium. This makes it a family affair for even daddy participates in this work.
Every Advent we put up a Jesse Tree and cover a majority of the Old Testament. Each child is able to begin to get a deeper mental picture of both Typology and Biblical History from getting another chance to understand the lineage of Jesus.
Religion has two aspects, the attitude of the will towards God which we understand by Christianity, and that perception of God which comes from a gradual slow-growing comprehension of the divine dealings with men.
One big take away thought I had from reading CM is that we must really try to keep our opinions out of what we read. When reading the parables aloud to our children, we must try to not give them one meaning, one interpretation. But rather just read and let the child share what they received from it.
If we believe that the Holy Spirit indwells those that have been baptized, then the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of the child. The Holy Spirit is the teacher that opens their eyes to the scripture that we share. Although we can't "test" all they know, we can see the fruit over time.
Testing includes, once a Term, open ended questions which allow them share all they know on one subject they studied. This also shows me as the teacher if I am giving too much of my opinion, if the books we are reading are reaching the child, and if there has been deepening of their understanding.
Some questions I have used in the past:
Share all you know about lineage of Jesse.
Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. What does this mean to you?
We've studied some amazing saints this term. Give an explanation of one persons heroic life and what fueled it.
The Bible is full of stories that we have read. Using one story you remember as an example, share how you have applied it to your life.
Form IV: Letting the teen choose! Some modern books teaching about the faith.
We have also been part of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in our area since our oldest child was 3. You can read more about the international movement of the Atrium here. When our children have reached age 12 we have allowed them to volunteer in the Atrium. This makes it a family affair for even daddy participates in this work.
Every Advent we put up a Jesse Tree and cover a majority of the Old Testament. Each child is able to begin to get a deeper mental picture of both Typology and Biblical History from getting another chance to understand the lineage of Jesus.
Religion has two aspects, the attitude of the will towards God which we understand by Christianity, and that perception of God which comes from a gradual slow-growing comprehension of the divine dealings with men.
One big take away thought I had from reading CM is that we must really try to keep our opinions out of what we read. When reading the parables aloud to our children, we must try to not give them one meaning, one interpretation. But rather just read and let the child share what they received from it.
If we believe that the Holy Spirit indwells those that have been baptized, then the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of the child. The Holy Spirit is the teacher that opens their eyes to the scripture that we share. Although we can't "test" all they know, we can see the fruit over time.
Testing includes, once a Term, open ended questions which allow them share all they know on one subject they studied. This also shows me as the teacher if I am giving too much of my opinion, if the books we are reading are reaching the child, and if there has been deepening of their understanding.
Some questions I have used in the past:
Share all you know about lineage of Jesse.
Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. What does this mean to you?
We've studied some amazing saints this term. Give an explanation of one persons heroic life and what fueled it.
The Bible is full of stories that we have read. Using one story you remember as an example, share how you have applied it to your life.